The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza has issued his “Ten Republicans to Watch” list, and Bob McDonnell comes in at number five:

5. Bob McDonnell: McDonnell, Virginia’s attorney general, will be the Republican standard-bearer in the Commonwealth’s gubernatorial race in 2009. Off-year statewide elections are always looked to by the two parties as litmus tests for how each side is doing, and the fact that this campaign will take place in the purple state of Virginia makes McDonnell all the more important. If he wins, it will be seen as a sign that the Republican party is alive and well and living in Virginia. If he loses, he’ll join the Jerry Kilgore Hall of Fame.

I doubt that will happen. In 2005, there wasn’t much party unity behind Kilgore as a gubernatorial nominee. People thought he was too moderate, and there was a feeling that the nominee for lieutenant governor, Bill Bolling, would have been stronger in the #1 slot. This cycle, Attorney General McDonnell is the only Republican running for the office, so there won’t be any divisions to heal within the party.